1. Field of the Invention
An electrodynamic gas charge system to separate combined particles of dissimilar substances and recombined with particles of similar substance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The science of contamination control has rapidly advanced in the past several years. It has been determined that over 98.5 per cent of atmospheric dust and contaminates comprise fine particles (3/4 of micron and smaller). These fine particles will not settle out but remain suspended in the atmosphere subject to several environmental forces. Recently it was discovered that these particles are electrostatically charged which generates an electrostatic force of normally positive potential. As a result, the positively charged fine particles will be attracted or driven to any surface or mass of lower electrical potential. Thus precipitation of these fine particles on surfaces will occur. Commonly, these surfaces and/or masses of lower electrical potential, refer to surfaces such as walls, ceilings, furnishings, clothing, products, processes and people.
Recently a massive filter system was developed which replaced the entire ceiling area or one wall surface of a given room or enclosed area. This system replaces the air in the room once every minute eliminating any secondary air mixture within the room. In reality, the room becomes merely an extension of the air handling or conditioned system plenum. Control of contamination is thus achieved by eliminating the primary and secondary air dilution process used in the more common air conditioning systems. Unfortunately, this is neither a practical nor economical contamination control for the majority of air conditioning applications due to the size of the filtration system. In addition, the primary air may itself be a source of contamination.
The more common systems employ a primary and secondary air dilution process. High efficiency filtration is used to remove the maximum number of suspended particles from the primary air supply and minimize the first source of environmental contamination. Unfortunately, this has a minimum effect upon internal contamination created by infiltration and internal generation of the fine particles. A limited degree of control may result from recirculation of secondary air through filters or other absorptive devices. Normally the effect is limited due to the ratio of secondary to primary air. The most recent advances in contamination control has been the agglomerating of these fine particles into larger masses that can be filtered from the conditioned space. This is commonly accomplished by subjecting the fine particles to a plurality of voltage source fields of varying gradients. Unfortunately, as environmental conditions change during the operation of the system the efficiencies vary due to the operating electrical characteristics.
Even where voltage source fields of varying gradients are employed, excessive voltages (energy levels) generate ozone and corona. Since the presence of even a small amount of ozone is extremely toxic, such systems are severly limited over their operating range.
Thus, a need exists for an efficient and effective agglomerating system capable of varying operating characteristics in response to environmental conditions and reduce noxious stack gases.